Hello everyone!

I’m jojo.

Growing up I’ve always been short and tiny. So much so that at the age of 26 I often get asked out by either high school aged people or people assume I’m 12 years old. I’ve even tried to date men and have been told it’s like dating a child.

I was born 3 months early in November and was born at 1 ibs 7 oz. I was given birth hormones but wasn’t able to grow much.

A while ago me and my mother were watching little people New York and there was a person on there who was my height and he had dwarfism and that’s when my mother reminded me that I’m also a dwarf.

Not in a bad way but in a way that I should be proud of.

Right now I’m 4’10” and weight 117 pounds. And my current age is 26. I am a woman.

I am proud of who I am especially since my uncle Shannon is 4’6” so it runs in my family.

Does anyone know where I can go to get tested to see what kind I have?

Thank you all!!

I call it the jack ass wee man experience that people want to be apart of if that makes sense. Since I was a kid I’ve always got asked to kick someone’s friend or themselves. It’s really weird and frustrating especially if I’m out in public with someone. I’ve even gotten asked by a teacher in middle school to punch another teacher in the groins :/

Looking for some community- anyone here have dwarfism from either autosomal recessive Pole gene mutation or CDKN1 gain of function mutation causing IMAGe syndrome phenotype? My daughter has this, and we have found a few folks on facebook, but I can’t find an IMAGe syndrome post on all of Reddit. Most folks end up being somewhere around 4 feet tall- although the range seems to be 3’5”-4’6”, so I figure this may be the right place to put a line out and see if anyone also has the same genetics causing dwarfism. My daughter is 2.5 and doing really well! She is 24” tall.

This happened this morning, although it has happened many, many times before, more than I can remember.
I should start by saying I am a 19yo guy that is 2'8" (81cm) tall. If we are being technical, I have a rare form of dwarfism, my body never produced growth hormone and the treatment didn't work so I barely grew from the beginning. I'm completely proportional, and healthy otherwise. I look my age. Which is what often causes stares and makes kids in particular very curious.
This morning my brother and I went to the grocery store and while I was getting a pack of strawberries I heard a voice asking me if I was an adult. When I turned back I realized it was a boy, about 5 years old, who was standing right behind me, with a confused look on his face.
I said that I was and then he asked me why he was taller than me. I get that question a lot. I explained in the simplest way possible some people grow more than others. He was respectful and very kind, so I didn't mind his questions. But his mom did. She was visibly embarrassed and apologized profusely before yanking him away. I assured her there was no issue, but it is common that parents turn beet red because of their kids way of expressing themselves with no filters.

I'm fed up of wasting money on desk/gaming chairs that end up being uncomfortable or needing 3 or so pillows to bring me to the correct height. My main issue is that my head ends up being lined up with where most peoples chest would be on a chair, making them very uncomfortable as this area is usually more pushed out. Also, being too little/light to allow the chair to lean back or to allow the chair to have any kind of bounce :( I'm 4'8, female with SEDC and have had a spinal fusion so a comfortable back rest is a must. I received a chair from Disabled Students Association UK when I started uni but again, its so heavy, and the headrest is way beyond my head placement x)

Any recommendations on desk/gaming chairs for little people would be great! Thank you <3

Hello everyone. I'm 19 male and 2'8" tall. I've had somewhat of a sheltered life so far and now that I'm starting college, finally, I'd love to maybe get to know other LPs that could give me advice on how to navigate my environment or that could five me some tips on stuff that I may not even think about. Is there any place on the internet I could check?

So I’m doing a big cleanup of my social media. I want to make it more of a positive space!

I have a couple comedians that I really love, like Brad Williams. But I want some nice positive uplifting influencers who happen to be small stature like myself.

I am also visually impaired. So TikTok does not work at all with my accessible technology. I use YouTube the most. Because it is almost completely accessible! However Instagram isn’t bad either.

Let me know who you would recommend? Thanks

anyone else here getting very drained by social media? like i’m casually scrolling and find a video of someone making fun of little people and then it ruins my mood.

It’s just really getting to me and I want to delete my social, so i don’t have to see it. But I like being able to connect with my friends and see other little people’s content.

Anyway i’m really just venting.

We had been together a year and she refused to meet me because of my condition (achondroplasia) and threatened disowning him because of it, has anyone else experienced this from partners parents?

I am a 26 year old male, and I am 4 feet 8 inches tall, which is about the height of the average 10 year old. I have a form of dwarfism called Nutritional Dwarfism, a condition in which a person is unusually short in stature as a result of having been chronically undernourished during childhood or adolescence. In my case, I starved myself throughout my adolescence since I was dealing with a lot of mental and emotional problems, and as a result of that, my body was never able to grow beyond 4'8''.

Since my dwarfism is proportionate rather than disproportionate, people often mistake me for a little child (even though I have facial hair), so much so that it is pretty much impossible for me to live a normal life. Everywhere I go, whether it be a gym, a bar, a mall, or even a damn grocery store, people always stop me and prevent me from going about my business like a normal person because they think that I'm a little ass kid. And of course when I try to explain my situation to them, most of the time they don't believe me. Hell, there's even been times where I've actually shown my ID and pointed out my facial hair to people, and they still don't believe me when I tell them that I'm 26!

I really wish that I hadn't starved myself during my adolescence, then I would've grown up to be the normal adult male height that I was supposed to be, and I would be able to live a normal life without constantly being harassed and discriminated against by others because of the prejudices that they have about my dwarfism. All I want to do is live my life. Is that so much to ask?!?!

Hi everyone, I’ve noticed something over the past few years, and I wanted to check if others have experienced the same. For most of my life, I worked for myself, but in the last 2–3 years, I’ve been looking for a job with a company. However, I’ve noticed a recurring pattern: people seem unwilling to hire me. After a while, it has become pretty clear that there’s some form of discrimination happening, or I get vague reasons for rejection.

I just want a regular job. I’m educated, I have diplomas, and I’m fully qualified, but despite that, companies seem to find excuses not to hire me.

I have achondroplasia, which is obviously visible, and I feel like that’s playing a big role in their decision-making.

How do you deal with this kind of situation? Do you recognize this issue? Any advice would be appreciated.

hi im 4ft 9in and a half and I've always been called a dwarf and being bullied for my height but I don't think i am and I don't want to sound bad but i have to ask if i can be regarded as one or am I just short

When I was born, my mother struggled to give me nutrients and oxygen in the womb, leaving me with intrauterine growth restriction/fetal growth restriction. As I grew up, I was always extremely small in comparison to my peers and asked why I was so short. Now, as someone in my mid-twenties, I am 4 foot 8 inches and I am harrassed in public, by adults and minors, for my size. I do not have disproportional dwarfism, nor do I have any -plasia conditions. However, I have been perceived socially as a little person for my whole life, and I have faced difficulties as the world is not made for someone my height.

Without the traditional conditions that a little person might have, am I able to identify as a little person and as disabled? It has been a strange life-long identity crisis, and I was hoping I could get some answers that would tell me if this personal label use would be appropriative or not.

Hello my son was diagnosed with achondroplasia during my pregnancy. We haven’t gotten the official blood work yet but he fits all the characteristics. He’s 1 weeks old still in nicu due to fast breathing and is currently on clap and feeding tube because they’re afraid he’ll aspirate if he feeds normally. I’ve read that respiratory issues are common in achon but I really just want to take my baby home and enjoy him. Did anyone else have a nicu stay with their baby with achon?

Our 3 month old just got diagnosed with Achondroplasia. We are average size. Looking for car seat suggestions as well as any other baby items that will be better suited for him. Any other advise is welcome.

Anyone here that lifts weight and has achondroplasia? Is the 5x5 program safe for us or is there a better beginner routine for building muscle? I'd be interested in hearing what you do.

Hello out there,

we are a family, currently located in Belgium, with a 1,5 year old daughter with achondroplasia.

We are currently thinking about relocating to Milan in Italy and I am curious what the situation over there is like. I heard that the doctors are pushing quite strongly for operational leg extension. As I am not pro or con, I still would like my daughter to grow up making her own decision about, understanding that she does not necessarily need it to be happy or feeling valid. Is that true?

Many thanks

Hi, I need help finding a patient floor lift designed for Little People. I have dwarfism, quadriplegia, neurodegenerative disorder, brittle bones, a history of lower extremity sprains, dislocations and fractures as a result of a genetic metabolic autoimmune disease. I’m 4 foot 5, broad shouldered, 110 pounds and stocky. My hips, legs and feet are spastic and twisted. The small patient floor lift I used to transfer from my bed to my chair for 22 years broke and has been discontinued. The local medical equipment companies won’t or can’t fix it. We can’t find anything similar. So, my insurance is paying for one that’s used for taller people depicted here https://youtu.be/sJTp4iJl67A?si=TV52Mem67EnRRr0g. Neither the lift nor the slings I’ve tried fit me so I keep getting hurt. What should be a one person transfer now takes two people. It’s painful and dangerous because I don’t sit in it properly. It is terrifying and difficult for my caregivers and me. I live in North Dakota. All the rehab evaluations didn’t have any solutions. Everyone is doing their best to meet my needs. Do you know of any recommendations or resources? Thank you so much!

Please share this. 😊

Hi everyone, I’m 28 years old and have achondroplasia. When I was 14, I underwent surgery for multi-level spinal stenosis. I’ve been doing okay overall, but since past few years I’ve been feeling some numbness below my hips, especially after walking or sitting for a while. It usually gets better after lying down for a few hours.

I’m wondering if anyone here has had similar experiences after surgery for spinal stenosis. Did your symptoms improve over time, or did they worsen? Is there any treatment or cure that helped with numbness or any lingering issues from the surgery?

Any insight would be really appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Made this account for the purpose of this post. I 20m have pituitary dwarfism and I am proportional at 3'9. I have not hit puberty and that is the point of this post. Basically when I was young I didn't have access to hormone care and did not grow or reach puberty, now as I am older and I can start taking testosterone but I am unsure if I want to. I'm just unsure if want to start as I won't grow any taller and feel that I might just look like a toddler with a beard ? Sorry if that offends anyone, I've been raised with no lp influence and I've never even met someone with dwarfism before. Plus my town is really judge mental and like totally against anything different so I'm scared to put myself on display. Growing up I was just treated as a 5 year and the treatment just continued into to adult hood as I didn't change physically. I've been thinking it would be cool to do go through puberty like people my age and experience that but I'm scared that I wont like the affects, I mean I've lived with this body for so long and learned to love myself as is. I guess im kind of scared to grow up and also be seen as abnormal? Since I pass as a 5 year old, I just let people think that instead of correcting them because of anxiety of what they may think about me. My family that's left isn't sure if I should take it either saying its a huge decision and could change my entire life. But I keep thinking that maybe being seen as adult would be great but I also constantly worry about people judging me for looking weird, since I could normally just go under the radar. I think if I do this I might even have a chance at finding love because it so difficult to find people who aren't put off by my child appearance. A lot of people don't want to be seen in a loving relationship with someone like me and its obvious why but it just hurts a lot. Maybe you guys who have gone through this or just in general can share some experiences ?

Hello!

My mom is a little person with achondroplasia dwarfism, she is 62 years old. She was recently let go from a job where she worked for almost 20 years. We are in the US.

She has been working desk jobs her entire adult life, but after doing some math she realized that she would get more from social security if she goes on disability now, as opposed to working another 5 years and drawing on it when she retires.

She is starting to struggle with mobility, and has had hip, knee and back pain for her whole life, which is getting consistently worse. Like most achon dwarfs, she has spinal stenosis. She has a medical history that includes two back surgeries, and trips to the doctor and ER for pain and spasms, all of which we are hoping will support her disability claim. She wants to be able to enjoy the mobility she has left, so disability seems like the best option if she can get it. (She will be financially okay in the meantime, she has been smart with her money and has family support, savings, and an IRA to draw on.)

She is consulting with a lawyer and she knows the process will take time. The lawyer told her she needs to emphasize her difficulty in continuing to work in order to win the case.

Does anyone here have experience with navigating disability claims successfully? Any advice, tips, or resources?

TLDR: older adult dwarf looking to do on disability a few years before retirement age. Looking for advice, success stories, tips and tricks for navigating the US disability system.

Thanks in advance!

I have a SEDc dwarfism and I've been trying to find something to ride as I have a toddler who is cruising away on his bike. I have a hard time keeping up with him but I also am unable to ride a traditional bike. I am 4ft 6in and lost on what would be appropriate for me. I will mention I do have very bad knees. Any recommendations would be so appreciated 🙂

Hello sorry if I come across as insensitive but I want to have more understanding. A bit of background I live with my cousin (27m) who has dwarfism, he is 4 foot 5 inches. He had been told that he has to have surgery on his knees because of his weight.

My question is how much should he be eating? I think he is just being gluttonous. I am 6 foot 90kgs and he will eat the same if not more than me (2000 - 2500 calories). He is 4 foot 5 inches and weighs 103kg. He does do powerlifting but he is using his dwarfism as a reason why he does eat a lot and I don’t have the knowledge to know if he is lying.

I apologise if what i have said has offended anyone.

I’m a 26M with pituitary dwarfism. Due to this, my physical growth was very slow, and I never went through puberty. I’m 4’7” tall, and my appearance, voice, and body make me look like a 10 year old kid.

Because of this, my parents always treated me like a child. They never allowed me to go outside or talk to people my age, saying I wasn’t ready to handle things on my own. They repeatedly told me I couldn’t do anything in life because of my condition and that my older brother would take care of me when he grew older.

But, my brother is abusive he harasses me and takes my entire salary for his personal use. I can’t do anything because I’ve always been dependent on him and my parents.

I have a job, but facing many challenges at job due to years of isolation, which have left me with poor social skills, low self esteem, social anxiety, and a tendency to people-please. I want to become independent but don’t know where to start. I’m scared of taking risks because I don’t know my limits and worry about getting into trouble.

For those of you who have similar experiences or challenges, how did you become independent while knowing your limits? How do you deal with physical limitations, like lifting heavy objects or reaching high places? What issues have you faced, and how did you overcome them? I’d really appreciate any advice or insights on how to navigate these struggles.

Dears, I was wondering, can you name any big corporation where they have/had a dwarf as a CEO? I could not think of any...

Hello, We live in a walk up and my son is 3 and a half and thus very independent. He does great crawling up the stairs but going down is more difficult for him and the current hand railing is about 6 inches to a foot out of reach for him.

Wondering if anyone knows of equipment to modify or supplement our hand railing so that he can reach it?

We're hoping for preferably a temporary measure as we are not in a "forever home" presently, and, if we cannot figure out a less permanent solution, we'd end building in another hand railing below the pre-existing one.

Thanks for your support!